I woke up to the sound of low voices talking. And, like every other time I woke up in an unfamiliar place, I stayed as still as I could, gathering information. I immediately assessed the high ceilings with exposed wooden beams and the smell of left over Thai chicken. I was still in Easton's house, right where I had fallen asleep.

"Can you stop staring at her?" a woman hissed. It was a voice I didn't know. My whole body tightened.

"I'm not trying too," a man, Elliot I think, protested. "There's just something about her that makes it super hard to look away."

"I get it," the woman snapped. "She's hot."

"I mean...fuck, I can't get out of this without you or Easton killing me," Elliot sighed.

Easton let out a little laugh and at his soothing, rumbling timbre, I felt a little bit of relief. So far, this man had done nothing but protect me. As much as it went against my instincts, I was starting to trust him.

"Hazel, you have nothing to worry about. Kaia pointed a gun at him less than twenty four hours ago. To be really honest, she doesn't want anything to do with me either and I'm her mate. The likelihood that she's going to be all cozy with another man seems slim," Easton sighed. "Plus, when I was at my dad's place I saw her down by the sea. She said something about having some kind of affect on people."

"Ah, so that's why you think she has powers," Elliot replied, a hint of teasing in his voice.

"Elliot, I'm serious. She has some kind of gift or something."

"She's a strong swimmer, so what?" Elliot shot back.

"No one in this pack has ever swum in that river and you know it. You were the one who dragged me out of the water. You know that the current almost killed me. And she ordered me around. She told me what to do and I just did it, twice!"

"Shhh, you're going to wake her up," Hazel scolded. "I'm just being honest with you, it sounds like the mate bond overwhelmed you at first, making you careless in the water and more willing to do whatever she asked."

Easton let out a disgruntled noise and there was the soft clatter of dishes bumping against each other. If the voices hadn't woken me up that surely would have, but knowing that I was safe and feeling so exhausted, I decided to remain still, my head cradled against my arm. Besides, this seemed like the best way to unravel some things I wouldn't hear otherwise.

"Easton what are you so nervous about? She's here now and you keep running into each other, even when she's laying low and slipping under the radar. Hell, she tried to get away from you and just got deeper on your packlands," Hazel pressed.

There was a heavy sigh and someone slurped a liquid, probably the tea that Easton kept referencing. 

"Well, for starters, look at her. I literally didn't think she was real. She's gorgeous. And I know that everyone says that about their mate, but every time I have seen her, I've also seen a dozen guys gawking at her at any given time. One time I chased some kid away when he kept hitting on her."

"You're a handsome guy!" Elliot protested.

"I have acne scars from my teens and I'm not particularly tall and I'm not exactly ripped either. You should have seen the other guys, I could never compete with them. And even they were scared to approach her. The only people who ever went up to her were either helping her or so out of her league that it didn't matter. How is she even mated to a guy like me?"

"Easton, it's not all about looks, and you aren't exactly losing in that category," Hazel insisted. "What is this really about?"

There was a bit of silence, only the sound of breathing and shuffling on wooden chairs.

"I'm working hard on myself," Easton began. "I know that I have a great life now, but it's not always easy to let go of everything that came before. I still have moments when things are hard. I still have so much to work on. And it's clear that she's not okay either. I don't know what had happened to her, but I'm scared that I won't be able to help her work through her stuff, or that it will be overwhelming for her. Two broken people coming together doesn't exactly sound like a match made in heaven."

"Easton, the moon goddess-"

This felt too intimate all of the sudden. And I actually felt guilty for listening in to a conversation that was not meant for my ears. Any other day with any other people I would have considered it a survival tactic. Here, it just felt like an invasion. He was baring his soul and I was just taking advantage of him.

I let out a little mew of noise, rolled about on the couch, and slowly stretched. No one said anything as I shuffled around. I pretended to yawn as I sat up. I blinked twice, then jerked, as if I was surprised to see all of the people sitting around the kitchen table.

"Kaia," Easton breathed.

"Um, hi," I whispered. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep."

"It's alright, you must have been tired." Easton shot me a small smile, cocking his head to one side. "I asked Elliot to bring Hazel over. Rose seemed to make you more comfortable so I thought that she might help. Would you like some tea? I have a pot on."

"No tea for me, thanks."

I slowly rose to my feet and was surprised to feel all of my muscles and joint groaning, like I had slept my longer than I normally had. I must have been knocked out for over twelve hours. 

"We can get coffee," Easton offered. His gaze was focused intently on me, like he wasn't sure if I was going to be docile and go back to sleep or if I was going to lunge for a knife to swing around instead. 

To be fair, if I had been looking for the outside in, I wouldn't be able to predict my reaction either. He was being so kind and had been so straight forward. He had never given me a reason to not trust him. But I hated his whole species and the pain that had been inflicted upon me and my sisters would not vanish in an instant just because of some nice words and the constant tea offerings.

So even I was a little surprised when I moseyed over to the kitchen and pulled out a chair. I sank down onto the wooden surface and my eyes met Easton's.

"Hey," he breathed, sounding a little stunned.

"Hi."

His hands that had been pressed flat against the table twitched towards me. He seemed to think better of touching me and wrapped his hands around his steaming mug. It seemed that holding onto his orca shaped mug was a safer option.

"Kaia, this is my beta, my second in command, Elliot. I know you've met him before but maybe a second introduction would help clear the air," Easton murmured.

"I'm also his financial adviser. First thing you should know about Easton is that numbers and money don't make a lot of sense to him. I keep this pack in the black," he stated proudly. 

"And I'm Hazel," his mate piped up. And she was cute as a button with an upturned nose and gigantic smile. I pegged her as immediately likable, though the difference in species still hung in the air. 

"Nice to actually meet both of you. And sorry about before. Adjusting hasn't been easy." It felt like the understatement of the century, but I hoped it was enough to break the ice.

Elliot just scoffed and smiled, his lighthearted attitude matching his mate so well. "No worries. I'm just glad Easton finally convinced you to give him a chance. He's a great alpha, but he was frantic over you." 

"Though you're probably used to that," Hazel said, running her eyes over me. "I mean you just woke up but you look like you're ready for a photoshoot."

"Uh thanks," I mumbled, dropping my attention to my hands that I had clasped together on the sturdy table.

Elliot's eyes flicked from his mate down to the watch that encircled one of his wrists. "It was lovely to meet you, Kaia. Without a gun this time. But we have to run, I have a meeting with a couple store owners who have some concerns."

Hazel offered me another bright smile and rose with her mate. My first thought was that she and Elliot matched each other too well. Was that how mates were supposed to be? Were Easton and I the opposite of normal? Anxiety churned my gut. The second thought was that my safety net was leaving. I would be alone with Easton again.

"I should get going too," I blurted, rising. 

Elliot sensed the impending awkwardness and bowed out quickly, saying they would be in touch. Hazel followed behind him,seeming a little oblivious to it all.  And it was just me and Easton again.

I braced myself for an onslaught of begging and pleading, but he just followed me to the front door and leaned one shoulder against the wall. His arms were crossed over his chest. 

"Are you going to run again?" he wondered.

"Maybe, I think differently when I'm away from you. When I'm with you my fears don't make sense," I confessed.

"We'll keep running into each other. I think you know that now."

"I do."

"Well, I can't make any choices for you, but now you know where I live. If you ever want anything to do with me I'm here. I'm not going to chase you anymore."

I just nodded, wondering why his words stung my heart so badly when they were exactly what I wanted to hear.